THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. **** Friday, April 3, 2020 |A
WORLD NEWS
Notre Dame’s Repairs StallaYear After Fire
AlmostayearafterlastApril'sdevastatingfire,NotreDameis
stillinafragilestate.Workershadbeenracingtostabilizethe
800-year-oldstructurebeforetheeffortwassuspendedindefinitely
lastmonthduetothecoronaviruspandemic,puttingtheproject
inevengreaterjeopardy.
Oneissueremainsundecided:ShouldNotreDame’sroofandspire
berebuiltastheyoncestoodorgetamakeover?TheFrench
governmenthasfieldedproposalsfromarchitectsaroundtheworld,
fuelingdebate.Thegoalwastohavetherestorationdoneby2024,
whenPariswillbehostingtheSummerOlympics,butworkis
alreadybehindschedule.
Thefiredestroyedasectionofthe
cathedralthatactedasthelinchpinofits
medievaldesign:itsroofandcentralspire.
Likeaballast,thespireandroofpushed
downwardandoutwardonNotreDame’s
limestonewalls,counteringtheinward
pressuregeneratedbythecathedral’s
flyingbuttressesandmassivefacade.
Thecathedraliscoveredinlead
thatmeltedfromtheroofand
spire,whichweremadeofseveral
hundredtonsofthetoxicmetal.
Workersdoingcleanupwear
hazmatsuitstopreventlead
contaminationandshowereach
timetheyleavethesite.
Spire
Apse
Vaultedceiling
Limestonewalls
Flyingbuttresses Gables
Southtower
NaveNaveNave
Northtower
Lead-coveredroof
NotreDame’sfamousflyingbuttressesare
stillpushingagainstthewalls,butwithout
thecounterweightoftheroofandspire,they
areatriskofcollapsingifthevaultsgiveway.
Wedgedbetweentheflyingbuttressesand
themainwall,these8-toncrutches(below)
aredesignedtopreventwallsfromcollapsing
ifthevaultedceilinggivesway.
Workershadstarted
buildinganew
scaffoldingtoremove
theoldonebeforethe
projectwassuspended
inMarch.Eventually,
workersknownas
squirrelswillrappelby
ropeovertheold
scaffolding,removingit
piecebypieceoverthe
courseofafewmonths.
Waterusedtodousetheflamescreated
fissuresinthemassivestonesthatarc
aboveNotreDame’snave,andseepedinto
thejointsandmortar,leadingtocrumbling.
Someofthatwatermayhavefrozenover
thewinter,potentiallyweakeningthe
structurefurther.
MAINENTRANCE
Withoutthespireandroofinplace,the
limestonewallsofNotreDame’snaveare
atriskoftiltinginwardanditsvaulted
ceilingcanbuckle.Already,about15%
oftheceilingcollapsedduringthefire
andoverthesummer.
Charredscaffoldingloomsatthe
cathedral’smostvulnerablepoint,
wherethespireoncerose.Ithadbeen
erectedforrestorationeffortsbefore
thefire.Nowdistortedandhighly
unstable,ithasbeenswayinginthe
windandrain.Itscollapsewouldbe
catastrophic.
transept
Sources: French Ministry of Culture, Notre Dame Cathedral Conservation and Restoration Authority, Pierre Noel, Google Earth Written by Noemie Bisserbe and Stacy Meichtry, illustrations by Merrill Sherman, production by Roque Ruiz and Todd Lindeman/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
North Spire
tower
South
tower
Flyingbuttresses
Southrosewindow
Mainfeatures
Arowof60-footwoodenbeams
(below)hangsabovethevaulted
ceilingoftheapse,creatinga
platformforworkerstoassess
damageandmakerepairs.
ngfire,NotreDameis
racingtostabilizethe
wassuspendedindefinitely
emic,puttingtheproject
otreDame’sroofandspire
akeover?TheFrench
architectsaroundtheworld,
erestorationdoneby2024,
Olympics,butworkis
The
cath
med
Like
dow
lim
pre
flyi
Spi
mescreated trtranseanseptpt
Exposedceiling
Agianttarpaulinhasbeenstretchedover
theexposedceiling,coveringcrater-like
holes.Theupperwindowsofthenave
andtheapsehavebeenremovedfor
protection.Temporarycoversshieldthe
cathedral’sfamedtrioofrosewindows
fromtheelements.
Inside,twopillars,damagedbythe
spirewhenitcamedowninflames,
havebeenreinforced.Themainaltar,
withitsbaroquesculpturesdepicting
thevowofKingLouisXIII,hasbeen
coveredwithawoodenbox.
Thegablesarealsoatriskbecausetheyareno
longersupportedbytheroof.Thenorthgable
nearlycollapsedduringthefire.
Giantwoodensupportshavebeeninstalledto
reinforcethenorth,westandsouthgables.
Beams